FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a microwave oven having a conventional spitting device and FIG. 2 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of the spitting device shown in FIG. 1.
In the cooking chamber 2 of a microwave oven 1, a tray 3 rotated by a motor (not shown) is installed. When a user places foodstuffs on the tray 3 and then operates the microwave oven, the foodstuffs are cooked by microwaves radiated onto the foodstuffs.
A variety of tools for supporting the foodstuffs in the cooking chamber 2 have been proposed. One of the tools is a spitting device 100 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. An oil tray 4 for receiving oil dropping from the foodstuff 5 while cooking barbecue is placed on the tray 3, and the spitting device 100 is placed on the oil tray 4.
The spitting device 100 is comprised of a central spit member 110 for spitting the foodstuff 5, a supporting member 120 supported by the central spit member 110 and a plurality of spit members 130 removably fixed on the supporting member 120.
The central spit member 110 is manufactured by bending a single wire, and is comprised of an upright central spit part 111 and a supporting part 113 having the shape of a partial ring extended from the lower end of the central spit part 111. The part connecting the central spit part 111 and the supporting part 113 with each other is bent into a predetermined shape so as to form a hooking part 112.
The supporting member 120 takes the shape of a cylinder, and has a through-going hole 121 formed on the central area thereof, through which the central spit part 111 passes. In addition, a plurality of fixing holes 122 are formed on the upper side of the supporting member 120, and a hooking recess 123 is formed on the lower part of the supporting member 120. As the central spit part 111 passes through the through-going hole 121, the hooking recess 123 is assembled with the hooking part 112 of the central spit member 110. Then, the supporting member 120 is supported by the central spit member 110 at a predetermined height.
The spit member 130 is comprised of a spit part 131 for spitting a foodstuff, a fixing part 132 inserted into the fixing hole 122, and a connection part 133 connecting the spit part 131 and the fixing part 132 with each other. By inserting/disassembling the fixing part 132 into/from the fixing hole 122, the spit member 130 can be fixed/disassembled onto/from the supporting member 120 easily.
When a user wants to cook a single foodstuff, he supports the foodstuff, using the central spit member 110 only. When he wants to cook many foodstuffs, he supports the foodstuffs, using all of the spit members 130 and the central spit member 110.
In such a conventional spitting device 100, a number of spit members 130 must be prepared to cook a number of small foodstuffs. However, since the supporting member 120 has only a limited number of fixing holes 122, relatively a small number of spit members 130 can be installed on the supporting member 120. Accordingly, such a conventional spitting device 100 is not appropriate in cooking a lot of foodstuffs.
Furthermore, in such a conventional spitting device 100, since all of he spit parts 131 are equally distanced from the central spit part 111, the foodstuffs are arranged circularly around the central spit part 111. Thus, it provides low efficiency in using the space of the cooking chamber 2.
Moreover, in such a conventional spitting device 100, since the height of the spit member 130 is fixed, the foodstuff is always adjusted according to the fixed height, irrespective of the size thereof. Therefore, it may be hard to accommodate a voluminous foodstuff in the cooking chamber 2, and, to cook a lot of small foodstuffs, they may be arranged only in the lower area of the cooking chamber 2.